On August 18, The Verge reported that Sony had kicked off another one of its once infrequent (but becoming much more frequent) PS5 restocks, and the $549.99 console bundle that includes the PS5 with a disc drive along with Horizon Forbidden West is still in stock about 19 hours later. Even after everyone has had the chance to run through the queue and make a purchase, there was still stock left over, chilling out.
That kind of luxury — buying a gadget when you want just because the thought came to you — is something that a lot of people are relearning. And it’s great. Those early days when we had the mighty responsibility to tell readers when they had minutes — no, seconds — to score a console felt special, but I think we’re all ready to move on.
According to The Verge, just six months ago, Sony was still struggling to put PS5s on shelves (the PS4 had sold more in its lifespan at that post-launch mark). Recent sales data from the NPD Group states that the PlayStation 5, along with the Xbox Series X, had much higher year-over-year sales in July 2022 than in July 2021, suggesting that consoles have become much more readily available.
No one wants to definitively yet that the PS5 is “easy” to buy because, if that were the case, it’d be in stock and ready to ship immediately from the likes of Amazon, Best Buy, and more. Of course, you can currently request an invite to purchase one from Amazon, but that only half counts since you have to wait to see if you actually receive the invite. You can also fill out this form for a chance to be invited by Sony to buy a PS5.
However with this latest PS5 restock lasting through the night and well beyond it at this point, it’s an encouraging sign that stock won’t be as much of a dire issue for the 2022 holiday season as it was last year.
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